October 2

“Instantly, God’s presence made Isaiah aware of his sinfulness.  One of the seraphim came to him with a burning coal and cleansed Isaiah of his sin.  Immediately, Isaiah began to hear things he had never heard before.  Now, he was aware of a conversation in heaven concerning who might be worthy to be God’s messenger to the people.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 9/20

Blackaby begins his devotional with the reminder that only the pure in heart shall see God.  While we can’t make ourselves pure, we can confess our sins. But it’s our sin of rebellion that must be dealt with first. I liken it to the mildew that keeps coming back to the corner in my basement.  Every time it shows up I scrub it off with bleach.  Invariably it comes back because somewhere a mildew spore is lurking in a crevice.  The only way to totally eradicate the mildew would be for me to tear out all the wall and baseboards that might be harboring the offender and start over.  This is the only way.  God knew this would be true for us as well.  Sin is like a mildew spore.  We can continually confess our sins and be purified, or we can let God tear up the floorboards and rip out the walls of our lives and start us over as new creatures in Christ.  Isaiah experienced the temporary cleansing then, but now he and the rest of us can know that we have been purified as long as we remain in Christ.  Having received this cleansing we need merely to remain in God’s presence through a humble heart.

“For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  Isaiah 57:15

June 25

“...we put our own desires ahead of God’s....He never asks more than a person can manage because He gives the grace and strength to do as they are needed.”  Daily Readings of Quaker Writers, 6/25

When I woke up this morning I started thinking about some long unmet desire that can never be fulfilled at this point in my life.  I don’t know exactly why I began thinking about it other than that God was planning to show me something in my morning devotional reading.  After expressing to my husband that while I believe that God works out all things for our good, I added that I just don’t know what to do with the desire that is still with me.  Then I read the above quote and understood.  My desire in itself was not a bad desire to have, but as long as I put it ahead of God’s desire for me I cannot receive His grace and strength to let the desire go.  I’m sure there are many more desires I’m hanging onto and am putting ahead of God’s desires for me. I must be diligent to keep them in their proper place!  To truly want what God wants is an act of humility, and as we know, God only gives grace to the humble.

“For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”  Isaiah 57:15

May 21

“ As you walk with Jesus daily, let the witness of the changes taking place in you come from others and not from you.  If you have to prove to someone that God has really changed you, He has not.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 5/21

This is another argument against self-reflection.  We could quite easily become consumed with our appearances and start making adjustments as necessary to “prove to someone” that God has really changed us if what we see doesn’t match our idea of what a Christian should look like.  Instead, we must rely on the prompting of the Holy Spirit to bring those unholy things in our lives to our attention.  It is in being convicted by the Holy Spirit that we are then able to change.  Any attempt at changing in the flesh will be temporary.  As soon as we forget about them our old habits of the way we always were will take control.  But if the Holy Spirit convicts us of our transgressions and we humbly repent, then the Holy Spirit can transform us in an instant.  This is why you hear stories of people instantly losing their desire for something that had controlled their lives before.  But this also means we must maintain this attitude of submission to the Holy Spirit.  The moment we allow our flesh the upper hand even the things that were instantly taken away can reappear.  This is why Blackaby says, “As you walk with Jesus daily...”  We were made to respond to God, so we must remain humble in order to respond.

“For thus say the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and revive the heart of the contrite.’”  Isaiah 57:15